Berry leads Malverne to basketball victory

Andre Berry got energized, got aggressive, and got Malverne a much-needed 67-59 victory Jan. 31 over the Oyster Bay Baymen to open some breathing room for third place in Nassau Conference B-C.

Berry, a junior center, tallied a team-high 18 rebounds and added 16 points to lead the way for the Mules (7-3 in conference play, 7-5 overall), who desperately needed a win to remain high atop the projected Class B playoff ranks as they head into the stretch run.

Malverne assistant coach Walter Askinoff was pleased with Berry’s performance, but says the youngster is still learning what it takes to become one of the top big men in the conference. “Andre can be a dominating presence,” Askinoff said. “The one thing we have to work on is he’s a junior and needs to develop some more mobility. He can shoot the ball well and has very good hands, but he has to learn to step up to take a charge.”

Berry outdueled his counterpart in the paint, Oyster Bay’s Greg Nielsen, to score 10 points in the first 16 minutes to send the Mules into halftime with a 32-29 advantage. Malverne’s sophomore guard Tim Prewitt, who averaged 16 points over his previous three games, was another key contributor early on, notching nine of his team-high 17 in the first half alone.

The Mules opened a 42-36 lead with 5:18 remaining in the third quarter, but the game came to a halt for several minutes when Malverne sophomore forward Aaron Jackson landed on his head after he was fouled hard in the paint as he was going up for a layup. While Jackson was able to walk off the court under his own power, he was escorted to an ambulance for observation. “Right now, we don’t have the strength of the guards we had in the past,” Askinoff said. “We’ve always had a guard that could put down 20 or 22 points in a game and run the show for us. This year we’re struggling a bit, and the young man who got hurt was a big factor as well. He has to get stitches and I’m worried about a concussion, but hopefully he’ll be alright.”

Oyster Bay would get as close as 63-59 with 31.3 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, but Malverne senior guards Kwame-Boakye Yiadom and Jerry Voltaire each went 2-for-2 from the free throw line in the final minute of regulation to seal the win.

After winning four of the past five Nassau Class B titles, Askinoff admits this postseason will be a dogfight. “It’s going to be tough,” Askinoff noted. “We’re not going to walk into the playoffs like we did in the past — with an undefeated record or losing just one game. This is going to be a battle. If we can get to the playoffs, I think we have the advantage because we’re used to playing on a college court. Our transition game just needs improvement. Once we get that, we’ll be fine.”